My RB dog Buster was dog aggressive. I lived in an apartment then and had no backyard so it was 5 walks a day. I always had him on a leash.

There was a beautiful GSD in our neighborhood - very sweet and dog friendly. Anyway they used to let him out on his own all the time and he would bound up to Buster to play. I was very hard pressed to get Buster away from the other dog. Now Buster was a sweetheart of a dog - very people friendly - very well behaved, etc. Just because he was not socialized with other dogs when he was a pup (I got him at 1 year old from the shelter) did not make him a "mean" dog.

So if these two dogs had gotten into a fight - who would have been at fault? Was I not allowed to have my dog out for walks because there are other dogs in the neighborhood? Not only that but this dog would bound across the street to greet Buster. What if a car had been coming?

When I take Leo to the park, I always have him on a leash. One squirrel and he would be off and running. One time a Lady gave me a hard time because Leo was on a leash. Now this is not a Dog Park - there is no fence or designated area for dogs to be off leash, even though most people let their dogs run off leash. Again - if Leo got into a fight with another dog, who would be at fault?

Do yourself and your dogs a favor. Keep them on leash unless they are in a fenced area or an area designated for off leash dogs.